[Titan6]

Don't know if it is just me expanding beyond my normal circle of friends or if this is a trend but this year I will likely be hunting this season with three new friends all of whom are first time hunters (although not at the same time thank goodness). So I was curious if anybody else out there is seeing this as well? Some notes though-

- I offered up my land for use
- While I suggested to all of them that they take up hunting I didn't try to pressure any of them into it in the least
- Their ages range from 13-58
- There skills with firearms vary from novice to quite good, although none are seasoned riflemen
- They all live within 20 miles of me (Where I sometimes live in Virginia... not Oz where I am just visiting)

Also any tips for hunting with first time hunters would be appreciated as well.:)

[dispatch55126]

They say women are really taking up hunting which is very good for us all. It seems that when both genders are going for the same thing the arguments against it die down.

[MErl]

I hunted and got a deer for the first time this year. only advice I can give is, Stay Calm. I flat out missed a pretty easy shot because I was in a hurry and pulled badly.

My thoughts mainly revolved around "am I even doing this right? There is nothing around here. Just be patient and still" Make sure they know what is expected.

(Btw I was hunting alone so guessing on what to do)

[Titan6]

They say women are really taking up hunting which is very good for us all. It seems that when both genders are going for the same thing the arguments against it die down.

My wife started about five years ago. Her first buck was a beautiful 165 pound 8 pointer. She even dressed it herself and made some fine stew. These are all men (and young man) though.

[dispatch55126]

I don't think I could ever get my wife in the woods, way too much "indoor and comfortable", though she has expressed interest in skeet or trap.

[skinewmexico]

Not in Texas. All private land, and too expensive.

[dispatch55126]

I would never hunt on public land. Too many weekend rambo's like what I see at the range. I'm lucky enough to have 160 acres of family land.

[Titan6]

Not in Texas. All private land, and too expensive.

Well, very little public land anyway. Which makes me wonder. How many out there are sharing their leases when allowed? I know of several places last season where not enough deer were hunted yet when you talk to people about who they asked to come out with them you get blanks looks.

[dakotasin]

advice for taking first-time hunters...

doesn't hurt to watch one of the 'truth' series videos. make everything a teachable moment. identify tracks, turds, rubs, scrapes, and travel corridors.

the biggest thing is to make sure they see deer. they don't have to be in range, and it can only be fleeting, but just seeing deer really pumps a first-timer up.

my method of hunting is spot and stalk, so i'll find a deer for a first-timer, and then we'll execute a stalk. when it gets blown, we'll assess it together (move too fast, seen, smelled, didn't move when we should have, etc)... usually by the 3rd or 4th stalk, we've got blood on the rifle. it can be frustrating, but as long as deer are visible, motivation and fun factor stays high.

[308win]

I just walked in off the deck; light drizzle, crisp air. Twenty five plus years ago I would be having the last cup of coffee from the thermos while watching the ducks work to our set. (We would have limited out by now and would be enjoying being out.)

Or, several years before that I would have been walking the home place (or the neighbors or both) circumstantial hunting - whatever I kicked up I would take - rabbit, quail, occasional pheasant from off of the state reserve.

I was never much of a deer hunter - went once, had my deer tag filled before I found a comfortable place to sit in a low growing oak - didn't really understand what all of the excitement was about.

Well, Next Year, we will have closed our business and I will have some spare time to do things that are not related to running a retail business so:

I think I want some deer jerky so I will have to make sure the people I hunt on don't care if I take a deer. It will be a small doe.

I may start turkey hunting again although I have to say that I much prefer a fresh bird from Kroger to one that has worked for a living long enough to be 'in shape'.

I already hunt groundhog and Coyote so I plan on honing my skills a little although at my age 'sharpening the saw' is limited by the quality of the steel in the blade. Not that I am already one foot in the grave but I definitely need to get in shape so maybe that is what I will start working on this winter.

Rabbit and a bit of squirrel hunting are definitely in the future. Quail and pheasant in Ohio are pretty much of a losing proposition unless hunted on a pay-to-take and that has just never appealed to me.

I might even get the decoys out of the basement and make a few Mallards, Woodies, etc. lives a little more exciting. I could also take up goose hunting again although I don't see much challenge in that given the number of geese in central Ohio.

I also think I am going to get serious about bird watching against the day when I don't have much opportunity to do anything else.

Gee, I didn't know such a good duck hunting day could bring out this in me. Maybe there is still a little fire in the furnace.

[Art Eatman]

The Texas Wildlife Association, working with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission, has aided in two areas: First, in getting lands made available to hunters (timber company lands, e.g.), and then, in instituting a Youth Hunting Program which is supported by many of the commercial hunting ranches.

IMO, Texas hunters really should get involved with TWA.

http:www.texas-wildlife.org

Art

[MCgunner]

I chatted with a woman at the WMA this weekend, by herself with a yellow lab hunting ducks! You just don't see that too often, LOL. Duck hunting is pretty physical and not real comfortable to do compared to sitting in a heated deer stand. LOL I was quite impressed. I didn't talk to her much, but figure she was hunting on her days off while her husband worked, but who knows? She might just have gotten into hunting! As a father that tried to get a daughter interested in something other than boys and basketball, well, I like to see the girls having some of the fun boys have been doing for years. :D When I was a kid, I started likin' the girls, but I still had my priorities straight when hunting season came around, LOL!

[Titan6]

The Texas Wildlife Association, working with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Commission, has aided in two areas: First, in getting lands made available to hunters (timber company lands, e.g.), and then, in instituting a Youth Hunting Program which is supported by many of the commercial hunting ranches.

That is a good point Art. The last town I lived in Texas people worked a deal to allow hunting on airport land. The airport wanted to get their hog poulation under control and it worked out well. Can't imagine it would work well in say NJ, but in Texas people are a lot more sane.

[Bitmap]

Also any tips for hunting with first time hunters would be appreciated as well.

Don't forget the camera!!! And make sure the memory card is in it and that the batteries are charged up. Take lots of pics before, during, and after.

Make sure you have plenty of insect repellant, or warm socks, or handwarmers, or whatever you need in your area. You've probably got that covered but it is worth repeating.

I would make sure they use ear and eye protection. Electronic muffs are getting high enough in quality at a low enough price that I have a number of spare pairs to loan out. Same thing for eye protection.

[JR1]

I had the privilege of taking a 9yr. old first time hunter this year. I was shaking more than he was as he took his first deer...a young doe.

There will be more first timers in my future after that experience.

[pete f]

actually numbers are down every year, Hence the big push by both states and manufacturers to bring in new hunters.

Once you have started hunting, bring someone else along.


McGunner, You live in Texas and you have HEATED deer stands? Excuse ME but the *** is up with that. HEHEHEEHHEHE Here in Minnesota we don't even put on a second pair of shorts till its -20. Heated Deer stand, Thats a good one.

[skinewmexico]

I heard about a rich guy down by Rocksprings, put in 16 8x10 blinds, all heated, insulated, and with urinals. Piped into a sump.

[Titan6]

I had the privilege of taking a 9yr. old first time hunter this year. I was shaking more than he was as he took his first deer...a young doe.

One of my sons is nine. I am taking him out this year. Not to shoot but to watch. I'd probably let him shoot but every thing I have that is legal to deer with in Virgina would knock him over with recoil.

Thanks for the tip on the camera bitmap, I never would have thought of that.

[tydephan]

I'm a first time deer hunter this year. I've been out three times during bow season (although only carrying a Nikon - as I'm not outfitted with a bow yet). So I used the first trips as recon and to get used to being in a tree stand and basically running the routine.

However this weekend starts rifle season for us folks in Alabama. So I'm really looking forward to getting out there with more than a camera (Browning A-bolt II SS in .270).

I've been "into" guns for three or four years now. But mostly handguns. I have a mentor (cousin) that has been hunting for a long time. I've been helping him prep land during the summers (food plots, corn, etc.) for two years now. He has gradually led me to being more and more interested in hunting until I finally gave in this year and committed.

So...count me as a noob.

[rdela29]

pete f

I'll beat McGunner to the punch. I was in Virginia, or was it Eveleth, last year maybe year before when "you guys" broke the record for low temp. No thanks!! We can argue North vs. South hunting all you like (though I suggest you do it with someone other than McGunner, I just read some of his handiwork), but it comes down to where we live, and what we have available. We hunt the weather we have and the deer we see in the accomodations provided.

I have buddies that live in The Cities with land up in and around the north woods . . . who knows, maybe I'll find myself up there next year and understand your angle. I look forward to it, always up for expanding my narrow mind.